Ratchet and Clank: DreadZone II
by Ratchet Soulraven
Summary: In the final moments of his freedom, Ratchet meets a female Lombax, and he doesn't know if he can trust her. Then they're all kidnapped and taken back to DreadZone, where someone who hates them all more than anything is waiting for them after over 5 year
1. Intro

This is the third story in the series so far. If you have read my two previous fanfictions you'll be right t home here. If not, then don't worry, the story will eventually be explained.

Anyway, as I said in my author notes of the final chapter of my last fanfiction, I'm really glad to finally be writing this fanfiction. I've been thinking about it for quite some time and I'm happy to put it down in words.

Also, in case you happen to be a younger reader (I'll assume you'll most likely be, given the age appeal to Ratchet and Clank in general) you'd better not read on. I'm not talking about my writing skill level either. This fanfiction will contain swearing, drugs, strong violence, a possible torture scene and threatening themes. I'll be doing a Heavy Rain fanfiction shortly, but rest assured that I won't be including any of the level of themes from that game into this.

Also, in case you want to contact me, please feel free to drop a PM my way. If you want my IDs on such websites like IGN, PSN, YouTube and the lot, unless I know you very well and you give me yours first, you won't be getting any of them and you'll be wondering for the rest of your lives. Simple as that.

Anyway, if I haven't bored you to death already, please read on to the fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it, and please remember to give any feedback (positive or negative) you can, along with suggestions, and queries. Put them in a PM towards me if you see fit.

Also, I have to thank the following best friends I have from this website who've I've exchanged work with, used the OCs of and very frequently talked with. I couldn't be here all this time later without 'em:

DanaNightShade Azimuth

Swordsman321

DarkLombax

Noobie444

Clank5678

I'm sure I've missed one or two people, but don't worry; I'll include you if you have the courage to mention that I missed you.

Anyway, on with the story, and I'll be looking forward to your reviews and PMs shortly!


	2. Where aren't I?

_**Hey everyone, this is the first chapter in my last R&C fanfiction...for now. I'll try to make it the best yet. Please honestly tell me what you think...and no, this is not a DreadZone rip-off...at least I hope not.**_

_**Also, I'll be really busy in the following months, so you might not get a another chapter for 3 months, so I'll try to make this count.**_

_**Anyway, read on please!**_

_***Goes back to playing Dead Space 2***_

* * *

><p>They inspected the Lombax's body on the cold metal bench. He was lying there, his body covered with bruises, scars, marks and signs of pain. He was drenched in sweat and grime. Blood dripped from one arm. He was unconscious. He had been for the last few hours, even though he'd been mumbling in his sleep and almost fallen off the bench.<p>

'Is this him?' A beefy thug asked. He was shirtless and was black. His legs and feet were robotic though from the waist down. They had to be replaced. A lucky survivor from a war. 'There were three of them. Are you sure this is the right one?'

'Oh yes, I'm sure,' another voice said. This one sounded like it was spoken from an intercom, except the raw hatred and lack of mercy was so thick in his voice that people were surprised that it was him taking, not Batman and Kessler combined. Everyone who wasn't used to his voice shivered when he spoke. 'I'd never forget that face, that body, that Lombax. Never.'

'So do we get started now?'

'Indeed. And try to make it as uncomfortable as possible for him.'

He turned around and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He smiled to himself as he heard the whirl of the machines at work behind the closed door.

'Just you wait,' he kept saying to himself. 'Just you wait until you wake up...'

The first though I thought when I woke up was how much my head hurt. Being knocked out isn't as painful, it's the waking up that's painful. And I had experienced that more than enough times.

I couldn't move my arms, legs, or body in any way. I thought I was buried alive for a split second. It was extremely hot and uncomfortable. It could barely breathe and sweat dripped down my back. I met my tail had been shoved in uncomfortable place once again...it couldn't be...

I then discovered that I half way between lying down and sitting upright. It was a relaxing position, but I had the feeling I was far from being relaxed.

'Ah, you're awake? That's great. We can get started now. I can't wait for this..'

'What?' I said, as I realized I was in some sort of cocoon. My voice was slightly muffled.

'Ah, Ratchet, you don't recognize me? Has it really been that long? Shame on you.'

I slightly recognized that voice, but barely. I looked up and I saw that my vision was through a visor, and I was seeing in a red and orange tint. I was starting to get scared.

'Where am I?' Even as I spoke the words I thought I knew, but surely I couldn't be..

'No where you've been before. But very similar. Except you won't be getting out this time.'

I recognized the voice finally. It sounded half machine and was wheezy, but surely, it was who I thought it was.

'Vox,' I said slowly, my body shaking. How could he still be alive?

'Yes. They found my body floating in space. I was barely alive. In fact I was almost dead. Through the recent technology and various cloning procedures they managed to keep me alive, even if I am 80% machine. Two things kept me alive mentally through all that surgery. One of those things was how I could rebuilt DreadZone. You know I said I would get "the best ratings I've ever had"? Well I did. The fame and fortune with it. Second, it was revenge. Revenge on you, revenge on your race and revenge for the rest of your life.'

'So what is this?' I asked, trying to keep my cool.

'DreadZone II. Only bigger, more brutal, deadly and fearful. And you'll be here until you die. That is of course unless you can escape or survive the impossible. And neither will be happening.'

'So what are you going to do with me?' I asked in fear.

'The suit you're in now in of course the DreadZone armour, except escape from it is impossible. It's your old armour. I found it on that ship you stole. I kept it all this time, waiting for you. Is it too small for you? Good. I also had the kindness of included a free DreadZone collar, except this one will choke you if you get out of hand. It'll get smaller and smaller until it chokes you, so do try to behave.'

I was scared now. I knew that I wasn't going to escape from this madman...or madmachine. It was impossible, he had every angle covered. Sweat ran down my body as I tried to shift myself. I realized that I was locked down to the recliner that I was lying on. My entire back and legs were burning and numb. I must have been sitting in this position for dozens of hours. A tear steamed down my check and mixed in with my sweat as it dripped down my body.

'Your two friends have had the exact same treatment. Although you must have already thought this, I am not a monster. You beat me fair and square and it was my own fault you survived and you taught me a valuable lesson: Never trust a Lombax.' He grunted at his own joke, or that's what it sounded like. 'Also, if you misbehave or try to escape, I'll make your life even more miserable than it is already. We have whole sections for that sort of thing. And I also have ingeniously cooked up a device that will make your suit of armour lock on you. If you are trying to escape, or causing trouble, or if I'm bored, I'll active it. This means that your armour will be locked and impossible to take off. Maybe I'll put it on a day, maybe a week, maybe a month, maybe for eternity. And there is no reverse button and it's impossible to get through. So don't try me. I've done my homework.'

I kept silent, not trusting myself to speak.

'I'm gonna leave now, I've got better things to take care of so sit around for a few hours, drenched in sweat, and cramped as the pain and agony slowly creeps in. And don't go anywhere.' He chuckled at his own pathetic joke as he came over to where I was locked down. He tugged at the metal rings clamped over me, testing each one for his personal pleasure. He then kicked me where one of the bindings was securing my leg down. It wouldn't have hurt normally, but it was already too tight and biting my leg down, and when he kicked it I was sure he shattered the bone. I pursed my lips together and lay motionless, not giving anything away, knowing that all it would do was encourage him further.

He snickered to himself and walked out of the room, the door sliding behind him and them locking as it slid back.

I don't ever think I'd been in more agony in my life, the suit and chair I was locked in must have been designed by some sort of masochistic sadist. I was cramped and uncomfortable. I was sweating so my I felt like I had just come out of the water. I arched my back, trying to make more room for myself but ended up exhausting myself further. I had given up. There was no way I was going to escape a place like this a second time. He would have been much more careful this time. There wasn't a chance that he would be careless once again.

I closed my eyes. It was hot and steamy. I barely had any air in here. I knew that if I passed out I might kill myself, but I didn't really care anymore. As I drifted off to my eternal sleep I saw Kylie's scarred face. She was moving her lips but no sound was coming out, but I knew what was saying, even if I couldn't hear it.

_Don't. Don't do it. Don't give up_.

_You're not real,_ I thought. _It's my imagination._

_No Ratchet. It's real. Please, don't do it. Wake up._

_No,_ I mumbled to myself. _It can't be..._

_Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake u.._

I woke up with a shudder that went up and down my spine. I was breathing heavily, my heart racing and my chest rising up and down. I then just lay there, not sleeping, not awake; I was in some sort of mental limbo that I couldn't escape from. One that didn't want to escape from. Ever.

Hours later...

I was in a caged room, made out of steel and electric walls. I was still groggy from my sleep and I struggled to stand up in the armour that I was wearing.

'Ahh, he's awake. That's good. Now let's see you go up against a series of tests then shall we?' It wasn't Vox's voice. It must have been some other leader of DreadZone II. 'Let's start with the unarmed combat shall we?'

The cage was lowered down to the ground. I saw that there were three other thugs standing there. They didn't have armour, but from their size and shape I didn't think they needed them.

'It's the big fight! Who will win? The armoured Lombax, or the most vile, the most violent and if I might add, downright ugly thugs on the level? Let's see. Round One, begin!'

The cage door was opened. I had no weapons, but I was good with my fists. Trouble was, this armour was too small and made my movements sluggish and slow. I hoped I could get used to it.

I started doing a combo fight, using my fists, elbows and kicking in the air. I was doing alright, I got one of them down on the ground with blood trickling down his mouth, and the other was in a daze. I jumped in the air and kicked out at the last thug and he crumpled as my foot connected with his head.

I was breathing heavily, and another endless stream of sweat was sliding down my back, but I'd gone through the first round.

'Note to self: Need to get more thugs. Good ones this time.'

Now eight thugs poured in through the door. I started attacking again, getting some solid strikes in, and knocking a few out. One of the thugs tripped me up and got me on the ground. Two of them held me down by my arms and legs.

'Oh this is going to get interesting. I can't wait to see how it ends.'

I kicked out at the thugs who was probably going to stand on my guts and sent him flying into the other remaining ones. I got to my feet, shoved the other one away, and then I got the last thug on his knees. I grabbed his arm, placed my foot on his shoulder blade and stomped down. He yelled in pain as there was a crunching sound.

'Come on boys, he's just one Lombax. One Lombax dressed like a gladiator and armed to the teeth.'

I then punched out everyone else as fast as I could until no one was standing.

'Hey Ratchet, go easy on 'em, hrm? For me? Oh hell, what the bloody hell do I care, do your worst!'

My heart sank as fourteen thugs came into the room. The paging system's speaker giggled uncontrollably. 'Oh this is going to be precious. Maybe I should record this and post it on the internet!'

I backed up into the cage that I was in. Everyone followed me. I stood on top of the bench there as they all gathered around me.

'Let's tie him down and pull his guts out!' Some of them started chanting stupidly. I then jumped across to the other side of the cage and exited it. I slammed it shut and pressed a button on the side. The cage at once descended to the lower floors. I couldn't believe that it had worked.

'Did I tell you I was going to kill each and every henchmen who failed to beat you? No? Oh well, must have slipped my mind. Anyway, we'll continue this later on. Your friends are waiting for you in your quarters.'

I went through the doorway and down the series of stairs and passageways that I was directed to go to. I then came to our quarters.

I saw that Rex and Kylie had armour on as well, except Rex had armour on that looked slightly like the Power Armour from Fallout 3, and Kylie had armour that was similar to mine, except it was a navy blue and gunmetal gray.

'Ratchet,' Kylie said, running towards me. She hugged me as she got close to me. 'I thought you were dead.'

'It'll take more than them to kill me,' I said, taking my helmet off. 'So it looks like we're all here in DreadZone II. Fantastic.'

'He's going to make our lives miserable, you know that right?' Rex said. 'I really don't know what we should do.'

'Well for now we're going to wait here until they call us. We might be able to get out of here somehow.'

'Hey Ratchet,' Kylie said, 'do you know anyone called Ace Hardlight?'

'Why?' I asked.

'Well it seems that there's this guy here who's the star of the place. He seems to be impossible to beat, and he's got it in for you. I have a feeling you're gonna get it.'

When do I not get it? I thought.

* * *

><p><em><strong>So what do you guys think? R&amp;R if you feel like doing so.<strong>_


	3. Metal Trees

_**Okay, I know it's been...a while. I've been really busy with a lot of work and school. But I should now have more time to write the final chapters of this fanfiction. Here's the second one, and all RnR is appreciated and acknowledged. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

* * *

><p>As you can guess, things didn't exactly get any easier for us from there.<p>

The doors opened and one of the thugs came in. He was half human and half machine. His body was made of metal and steel from the waist down.

'Okay you two,' he pointed at me and Rex, 'are going to do our course challenge to start with. With any luck you guys should be finished within a few hours, that is unless you get yourselves killed. You,' he pointed at Kylie. 'You can join the tech station.'

'And what would that be?' She asked sullenly.

'It's a place where you all watch over the contest and help your partners out. You can monitor the course and warn them of up coming hazards. We got this ingenious system from a person named Altias. I wouldn't think that means much to you anyway. But you get the idea. You can even watch your partners die a horrible death at the same time. Isn't it thrilling?' He chuckled to himself. 'Get going now. You don't want to upset Vox now do you?'

We all looked at each other. We knew this wasn't going to end well, but what choice did we have?

Me and Rex put our helmets on and followed him through the series of passage ways and tunnels. We then came to a steel room with a door at the end. The thug went back outside and shut the door behind us. It then opened the one in front of us. Me and Rex stepped through it, expecting the worst.

We were in a large artificial tree top, or that's what it looked like. The trees were all connected via ropes, bridges and weird looking devices. I saw that it looked like there were several paths and they were sometimes interwoven. There were metal spikes on some of the tree, and other forms of traps. There were various weapons hidden throughout the paths. It looked like this was an obstacle course. A fucked up one.

'Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I hope you are all enjoying yourselves here tonight?' For the first time I noticed that they were cameras and intercoms around the stadium. There was also a crowd. Not a small one either. The thug's voice chuckled through the intercom.

'Tonight we will watch our competitors race through the course, trying not to get themselves killed or too badly hurt, and then those who have not being killed can have a joyful battle with the various weapons around the arena. I can't wait to see what happens. It seems we have few enemies around here.'

At the corner of my eye I saw some of the thugs I had fought in when I woke up. It seemed the thug's claim of killing them hadn't exactly gone through in the end. I saw they were all bruised and badly hurt. I had no question about how easy they were going to go on me.

'Ding-ding-ding-ding. Let's get started!'

Me and Rex ran to the first tree. We saw that you needed to stand on top of various steel bars that were shaped like un-side down t's. We obviously had to stand on top of the bar and cling to the main part while jumping to the next one. I knew it was going to be difficult. The bars were swinging crazily in the air. I jumped out at one and caught it. I did the same multiple times. The bars were now getting higher and harder to reach. I had to climb up on the bars against the heat and occasional raging gust of wind. My grip loosened on the bars as I struggled to hold on.

I managed to get onto the platform. I had gone through one of the obstacles. How many more were they?

Rex had managed to get there as well. I looked at him through the visor. 'We have to keep going. We can't die here like this. This is pathetic.'

He nodded and then got up from the ground. I then heard a voice inside my helmet that startled me so much I almost fell off the platform.

'Ratchet? Can you guys here me?' It was Kylie voice.

'Yeah, we can hear you,' I said.

'Good. I finally got the damn mic to work. Anyway, it doesn't look good, there's rope and ladder climbing, you're going to have to also swing from ropes above spiky pits, get inside wooden tubes and pull yourself across to the other side, and sometimes one or both of you is going to have to go against other person.'

'Great.'

'Try and make it guys. We can do this together. I'll be in touch.'

The receiver went dead. Rex looked at me.

'Let's go,' he said.

For the next hour we ran through the obstacle course. Even though I had the tough armour, I was badly bruised, cut, and injured. I also probably cracked a rib when I hurled myself across the last gap to the next platform and mis-timed my jump.

I took my helmet off and sat down on a ledge. My helmet was covered with sweat and my face and hair was no different. I ran a dirty hand through the fur at the back of my neck. I brought my armoured hand back and saw it was covered with blood.

Reluctantly I put the sweaty helmet back on. I heard Kylie's voice through the receiver. At times like this I never wanted to hear somebody's voice more.

'Guys, it looks like there's some sort of test up here now. You guys better go and get it over with quickly. I don't like the look of it.'

Me and Rex walked across the path and into the area which Kylie was talking about. I didn't like what I saw either.

There was a circular open tube on one corner of the platform, big enough to fit a person. Then there was a large crystal wall blocking our path ahead. There were several tools lying around for destruction like hammers, drills and saws. The intercom crackled to life.

'You guys made it! That's great. Now we're going to play a nice little game here. To start with, one of you volunteers to go in the booth. Actually no, I want Ratchet to go. You had your chance to decide didn't you?' More laughter. 'Hurry up already.'

I cautiously walked to the booth, not sure what to expect.

'Now lean against the back of booth before I shock your collar.'

I placed my back against the booth. When I did the entire room closed around me and locked. Then I saw a metal bar slid across my waist.

'This is to make sure you don't cheat, my furry friend. Or help your buddy out with this test or the one after this. If he cheats then we'll give you a nice few painful crushes in the arm. That okay with you, furball?'

'What the hell..'

'You got a problem with my generous nature?'

I didn't say anything.

'Good. Did you near about the contestant's partner that did so badly in the test that the contestant came out of the booth as a paraplegic?' More chuckles came out of the speakers. I heard Kylie gasp on the other end of the line.

'It's okay,' I said even though I knew I was in a perilous position. 'We'll get through this.'

'Rexy, you have two minutes to cut through the crystal wall. You can choose any of the weapons on the ground, but choose wisely. And make it quick, because your partner is at stake as well. Have fun boys!'

As soon as the speakers went dead Rex went to work. He started using the axe to smash through the wall. He grunted under the heavy weight of it combined with his armour. I heard Kylie tapping away at a keyboard in the background.

'Rex try hitting the sides instead,' she said. 'It's weaker there. Try a different tool as well.'

Rex picked up the saw and started cutting at the edges. I saw it was giving away. I didn't have much time left. The countdown timer only show fifteen seconds left.

'Hurry!' I yelled as he started knocking a path way through. The countdown timer now showed seven seconds.

'6'

Rex knocked a man size piece out of the wall.

'5'

He started cutting the bits off that were in his way.

'4'

He dropped the weapon.

'3'

He tripped as he tried to walk through.

'2'

He picked himself up with shaking arms.

'1'

He stepped through the huge gap in the wall that he had taken out.

'Urgh…. You had to spoil the fun didn't you? Anyway, remember when I said chose your weapon carefully? Well the weapon that you didn't choose have to now use in a battle with another contestant. The loser is entirely at the winner's mercy. Also Ratchet, you'd better pray he wins, because the other contestant might not decide to release you. I'm guessing you don't want to be stuck there for a few years in that sweaty suit until someone with a heart comes and decides to get you out. You'd better get down on your knees and start praying….oh wait I forgot: you can't!' The thug's hysterical laughter died when he cut off the speaker system. I swallowed nosily and shifted, the armour burning a whole in my back.

I saw through the wall that Rex's opponent was really tough looking. His armour was a strong silver with bright green in parts. It had a metallic spine on the back that wound itself around his legs and back. But that wasn't the reason I was so afraid.

The weapon that Rex hadn't used was the hammer.

The weapon the opponent hadn't used was the saw.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

I banged my head against the wall of the booth. I knew that it wouldn't be as easy as that. Rex was going to be sawn in half before he knew what was happening. I knew that it would be the least painful outcome. Death was a mercy. It was a way to escape. It was a way out. The contestant was going to be make Rex suffer if he could. I knew it already. There was no mercy in DreadZone.

Rex walked into the arena. The electric gates behind him went up suddenly and blocked his escape. His opponent was crouched in a combat stance already. Without warning he sprang up in the air and slashed the saw in the air. Rex through himself backwards. If he hadn't the saw would have slashed his face in half. His opponent kept doing it again and again. Rex's face was inched from being cut in half. Then his enemy threw the saw at Rex. He ducked just in time as it scraped along the floor. He then scrambled to his feet and threw the hammer at his opponent's foot. It connected and he clutched his foot as the armour was dented. Rex then brought him down in a tackle to the ground. They both slammed into the ground loudly. Rex grabbed the saw and held it inches away for his opponent's face. I breathed a sigh of relief.

'What? Ugh. You disappoint me Lombax. Very disappointing, very. Oh well. Now what are you going to do? Oh this shall be fun to watch.'

Even I was unsure of what Rex could do. I held my breath.

Rex stood up and said to his opponent, 'Give me your armour, and we'll call it square, m'kay?'

He got up and started taking it off without a moment's hesitation. He dropped it on the floor and walked away. Outside of the armour he was a human, but I barely noticed this. I got out of the booth and walked towards Rex.

'I was worried you were going to kill him,' I said.

Rex shook his head. 'No. I'm not going to give Vox the satisfaction.'

The speaker's blurred to life. 'Okay guys that's enough for the day. We'll be doing this another time. Tomorrow's got some real surprises waiting. See you until then. That is if you can see by that time.' He crackled to himself as the speaker's cut out. His pathetic jokes were getting old, really fast.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Please either leave a review or drop a PM with me, and I'll try to respond to it as soon as possible.<strong>_


	4. Some Things Never Change

_**I got a few complaints that the previous chapter was too short. Hopefully this should make it up to you guys now, but it won't be too much longer. I had a few chapters made up but I accidently uploaded less than I should have and now the chapter are all over the place. I will though try to add as much as I can in the following chapters.**_

_**So if I haven't bored you to death already read on and R&R. Cheers!**_

* * *

><p>Me and Rex returned to our quarters. It was still early afternoon, but we didn't feel like going anywhere at the moment. I took my helmet off and collapsed in a leather chair, exhausted. Rex did the same.<p>

We didn't saw anything until Kylie came into the room five minutes later. She was dressed out of the armour and in jeans and a sweater. I assumed that she convinced the thugs to let her wear them instead. I'm guessing she didn't really give them a choice.

'You are guys okay?' She asked. 'Any injures?'

'Injures? A huge amount, most of them I'll live through, but you might need to take care of a few.'

'I'll manage that.' She kept talking as she went over to the aid kit. 'So do you think we have a chance of escaping this place?'

I shook my head. 'I've barely looked, but it doesn't seem like it. And if we get caught I know he's going to make us suffer. He hates me already as it is. He's going to make me suffer and then kill me somehow. Slowly. Like a drip feed.'

Kylie came back with the medical supplies. I started taking my armour off for her to use the antiseptic. As she leaned forward and looked at the injures on my chest I saw a gleam in her eye. At least I thought I did. Either way I leaned in to kiss her. Our lips met for a few seconds before she stepped back.

'Shower first,' she said. 'Then we'll get down to that.'

'I know I'm drenched in sweat, but there's no shower around here,' I said innocently.

'We'll see then.' She winked at me as she walked back to the medical box to get something else.

'What are we going to do with the armour we got from that guy?' Rex asked.

I shrugged. I wasn't going to sleep but I was closing my eyes and lying back in the chair. I knew that it was going to be tough here and even tougher – if not impossible to get out – but as long as I had Rex and Kylie with me I knew it was going to be less painful. I had people I could count on. That's what mattered and what would help me stay alive.

'I have an idea,' Kylie said. 'I'll pull it apart and try to fit the pieces on your armour to make it tougher and better for you two. I can really decrease the amount of damage that you take.'

'That's a great idea,' I said. 'But can you do that?'

'I worked for five years at a machinery. I know how to do this sort of stuff alright.'

I said nothing. My legs left as if they were on fire, but I knew that I had to get up sooner or later. I stood up, my legs feeling as if they were about to give away. Kylie started working on pulling the new armour apart. She obviously knew what she was doing.

'Do you want to get something to eat?' I asked. 'I saw a food court here I think.'

'What? Like a shopping centre?' Rex sputtered in disbelief. I shrugged.

'Oh hell, let's go anyway,' he said, stomping out the door. Walking wasn't a word you could use to describe when you wore armour this thick and heavy.

Me and Rex walked down the passageways of the place. I knew that the last DreadZone was massive, but this looked above and beyond it. It would take weeks to find your way back if you got lost in some of these passage ways.

We came to a place that looked like what was the food court. There was a long line that everyone stood in to get to the tray of food and the chairs and tables occupied the rest of the room.

I was about to walk in when somebody stopped me. It was a thug, leaning against the walls. 'Empty your pockets kid. If you're caught in here with a weapon it's a week in The Hole at best for you.'

I didn't know what The Hole was, but I didn't really care at the moment. I didn't have anything on me, and he was surprised.

'Nothing? You're either brave or stupid to be walking around here without a weapon.' He turned to Rex. 'Your turn.'

'Good.' Rex then threw a brutally sharp blade on the table, embedding it in the metal and in-between the thug's third and second fingers. It was so sharp that it went straight through the steel table with ease. I wondered how on earth Rex had the abilities to aim it so close and yet not cut the thug's finger off.

He yanked his hand away and the smirk on his face went away. He was silent for a second before he said, 'Next!'

The guy who was called had a helmet on so I couldn't tell what he was, but he laid down all his weapons, machine guys, shotguns, pistols, rifles, bombs, mines, flame-throwers and somehow even an RPG.

'That's all Koren?' Koren nodded as the thug said, 'Next!'

He saw looking shocked and he said, 'Maybe I'm being too careful lugging this around with me, but you need to be carrying it around. Since I'm not dead yet I'm doing the right thing.'

'Where do you get all that?' Rex asked.

'When you rank up you get more weapons and cash to buy the weapons with. This is nothing though. You should see Ace Hardlight's weapon collection.'

My face darkened as we started walking to the line. 'He's doing well is he?'

'Oh yeah. He's in second place in the whole of DreadZone history, and so far he's the best here.'

'Who's the first?' Rex asked, even though I knew the answer.

'A Lombax. Ratchet is his name, but I heard he escaped and destroyed the last DreadZone. He's a living legend.'

I took my helmet off for a second, allowing his to see who it was behind the visor. He saw my face and was unbelievably shocked.

'You're Ratchet?' I nodded. I put my helmet back on. 'I never thought I'd ever meet you. But you have to be careful, some of these guys will be pissing themselves are your sight, but some will take it as a challenge. No one has been able to beat your score for years. You won't have many friends here.'

I sighed. 'I guess not.'

As we moved up the line I noticed some contestants were fightning over something, probably the food. They then started going into punches before one of them was down and clutching his stomach. Everyone then went back to what they were doing before.

'You're allowed to fight?' I asked.

'It's an un-written rule that as long as you don't destroy anything, use weapons or start trying to kill each other, yes.'

'Interesting,' Rex said, rubbing his hands together.

'Don't get any ideas,' I said, pulling my hand on his shoulder. 'We don't need any attention.'

'As if you don't have enough of it already,' a voice said behind me. I knew exactly who it was. It was Ace Hardlight. He was surrounded by a group of his thug friends. Bullies never pick on someone alone, I thought.

'Still butt-hurt after all this time?' I asked, shaking my head in mock disappointment. 'How…disappointing.'

'Don't worry, that's going to change,' he said. 'You won't be escaping any time soon, and Vox knows I'm the one who's the most loyal to him. He picks nothing but the best.'

'I guess you should be proud of being his lap-dog slave after all these years,' I said. Rex snorted and Ace noticed that now he had two Lombaxes to deal with. I wanted to see what he what do when he saw there were three.

Ace's face turned red as all his friend's went "oooohhhh". He gave me a rough shove. I saw it coming and I side-stepped it and he crashed into the person in the line ahead of us. He snapped his head around and put his fist under Ace's chin. I then saw that it was a she before she turned around again, muttering to herself.

'Get lost Ace,' Koren said, shoving Ace backyards. 'We're not interested in your snide crap.'

Ace Hardlight looked even more angry than before, and wasn't going to back down any time soon. He shoved Koren backwards and then lunged at me. He grabbed me by the neck and pressed his knee on my stomach, pressing down. He then started trying to knock my head against the ground.

He was then knocked away, as Rex slammed his elbow into the side of Ace's head. He went down, slamming into the ground and lay still, not even moving. Then Rex was picked up by some of Ace's buddies and they held him in an iron grip, locking his arms around his head. Koren then tripped them all up, making them fall to the ground.

They were obviously defeated and they then started picking themselves up from the floor, obviously in a lot of pain. Ace Hardlight looked worse though. He was badly bruised and the side of his head was bleeding slightly. Amazing no one had done anything, and half the people there barely noticed them fighting, which was strange. They obviously didn't know who I was, or Ace for that matter. I hoped to keep it that way, but knowing how full of himself Ace was I doubted that.

As they limped away Rex gave Ace the finger behind is back and the few people who saw it laughed, but Ace obviously didn't notice.

The rest of the dining pasted without anymore sight from them. We got our food, which was as awful as I expected, but I was starving by that point and I didn't really care.

'I suppose he hates you even more now,' Koren said as we sat at the table. 'And me too. But I think if we stick together we might not have as much problems.'

I nodded in agreement. Someone tapped my shoulder, and I turned around.

It was the girl who was in the line in front of us. She was sitting a table with a few other people, mostly aliens. 'That was awesome, what you did to Ace that is,' she said. 'I just wish I could have given my addition myself.'

'Feel free to join the fun next time round,' I said. 'He's bound to pick a fight some time again.'

'I will,' she said as I took my helmet off for a second and scratched my head. I always seemed to be sweaty and itchy in this suit, but I didn't exactly have any choice. The girl gasped.

'Ratchet?' She exclaimed. 'That's really you?'

'Yeah,' I said, not exactly liking all this attention I was getting.

'Everyone here has heard so much about you. You're the only one to ever get the better of Ace on the battle-ground. Not to mention you were the only ones to escape DreadZone. I can't believe it's you.'

'Yeah well we got kidnapped again,' I said. 'Everyone seems to have some sort of obsession with doing that to me.'

'Sorry to hear that,' she said. 'I'm Farron by the way.'

After we all introduced ourselves we went back to our room. I wanted to talk to Koren and Farron about something. She had a friend of her's called Cell. I knew they could all be powerful allies, and right now I needed them.

After Kylie met them all I got straight down to the point. 'I know we just got here, but we could try and figure a way to escape somehow. I've gone through this life before and I'm not about to do it again in a hurry.'

Cell nodded. 'Me and Farron have been here for three years. We've tried everything, but there's no way out. And if you're even suspected of trying to find a way you get taken off to the Chop Block. I've never been there, but all I know is that the best of what they could do is worse than Death.'

I shiver went down my spine, despite the fact I was covered in sweat. 'Then we won't get caught.'

'The thing is,' Rex said. 'You both haven't told anyone else or gotten anyone else involved, have you?'

'No,' Farron said.

'Exactly. There's six of us here and before there were two of you. Finding escape could be easier than before.'

'Who says you have to escape?' Koren said suddenly, causing everyone to stare at him. 'We can form a team and if we all succeed and gain ranks high enough we could win back our freedom.'

'There's no way that could happen,' I said quietly. 'He'll never let me go. He hates us too much, and if we do make to the top, why should he let his top money making machines go waltzing free? No. We have to find a way out.'

Everyone nodded. 'We'd better go now,' Farron said. 'We shouldn't be seen in your quarters anyway. We'll talk about this another time.' They were all gone, but not before Farron said, 'it'd be a pleasure to die by your side Ratchet. All of you.'

'I hope it doesn't come to that,' I said. I felt a cold pit in the bottom of my stomach.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thoughts? Tell me either in PM or in your review. Thanks!<strong>_


	5. Adrenaline

_**Okay, this chapter is going to be pretty long. Sorry that I haven't uploaded in so long. I've been so busy with college exams and projects. It might be a while until my next one, so this is going to be extra long. Please remember to give plenty of constructive criticism and to either write a review or PM me. **_

* * *

><p>'You told me they would be dead on the first day!' Ace yelled as he slammed his fist onto a steel table. He winced as he realized what he had just done. Vox rolled his robotic eyes before he started speaking again. The thug in the room snickered until Vox glared at him.<p>

'Enough Semen,' he said before talking to Ace again. 'They're better than I expected. But they won't last long, and even if they do, you know I can pull a few strings, don't you?' He tried to wink, but that of course was impossible.

'I don't care!' Ace yelled again. He pressed an ice pack to his head where Rex had slammed his elbow. 'I want you to beat the shit out of him with a hammer. Then again you don't need to do that. I can do it myself; me and my team can handle that.' He picked up a shotgun and started swinging it in the air.

'Put that away; you'll do yourself an injury,' Vox said. 'I'll let them go ahead for a bit, but trust me; I'll pull a few strings. They'll suffer believe me. Especially Ratchet. I'm sure you can wait for that, can't you?'

'What exactly are you talking about?' Ace asked, calmly do slightly.

Vox brought up a few images on his computer screen and turned it around to face Ace. He looked at them for a few seconds before an evil grin on his face appeared and grew so large it age up his entire face.

'Oh I can wait alright,' he said, gleeful. 'But I'm sure a few tweaks until then won't hurt, right?'

'Go ahead. Just don't kill him, yet. Also, take this. You know what I promised you, didn't I?' Vox handed him a vile of a clear liquid. Ace swallowed it whole, knowing exactly what it was.

Ace felt a mad joy overwhelm his body; like all the cruel and spiteful things he had done in his life all suddenly came back to him in one suddenly spurt. The killings he had made, the fame he had gotten, the people he had caused pain to, the animals he had squashed underneath his feet, the prisoners he had captured, the contestants he had either discovered doing something against the rules or framing them, the contestants he had tortured; he remembered it all as it over-whelmed his entire body. He felt he might die from joy as he mentally screamed with glee, it rushing through his head.

He couldn't wait. He just could not wait.

* * *

><p>The beds were, of course, uncomfortable. They were probably meant to be uncomfortable. Metal and plastic benches, no sheets, you know the thing. I'd only gotten a few hours sleep, and not to mention that it was in armour, too.<p>

We were all eating breakfast in our quarters that morning. We had decided that if it was possible we'd avoid Ace and his gang, so we decided that having breakfast in own quarters would be a better idea. Kylie got up early and ordered all the food for us.

Semen made his appearance this day as well. 'Let's go. You guys be at docking station D in ten minutes or you'll spend a day in The Hole.'

'We're coming,' I said, annoyed at his constant bullying. It seemed he tried to make everyone's life here as irritable as possible.

'Really? It'd be fun to watch you arrive late.' Then he was gone.

'I hate it when he has the last word,' Rex said.

'I don't think you have much of a choice here,' Kylie pointed out. She took away all the cups and plates and then beckoned to me with a finger. I got up and followed her. Rex was busy getting ready as I did.

She pulled me into one of the rooms and I followed. Then she slammed the door behind her and grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me against the wall. She then pressed her lips against mine and we stayed like that for maybe a minute. It was pretty intense and I was shocked because I'd never been kissed like that before. She then pressed her body against mine and put a hand on my chest, where my heart was. It was beating madly and vividly.

'I want this to be beating where you get back today, okay?' She said quietly. I nodded as then regretfully I walked out.

Rex was standing outside, a smirk on his face. He was about to say something, but I said, 'Not a word.'

He didn't say anything, but his face told me all I needed to know.

I followed Rex out our quarters and down the hall, where a few contestants were having a friendly punch up. Rex and me kept walking.

We turned the corner and I froze as we bumped into Ace and his gain.

'Well, well, going to station D are we?' Ace chuckled to himself, a vicious gleam in his eye. 'You wouldn't want to be…late, would you?'

Before I could say a word I was grabbed by one of Ace's friend's and forced into an arm lock position. Rex got the same treatment.

'Let's see how fast you two can crawl to the station, and let's see what they do to you afterwards. This is going to be great!' Ace crackled his knuckles and twisted his head from side to side as he savoured the moment.

'Problem guys?' I heard a voice behind me. It was Kylie. Farron, Cell and Koren were all standing there as well. I counted quickly. Against each other we were six to five, but we didn't have the upper hand as they did.

'What do you want, bitch?' Ace poked Kylie in the chest. Kylie quickly grabbed his finger and twisted it painfully in one swift motion. It was enough to properly sprain it.

'You touch me again, you lose a testicle,' Kylie said sweetly. 'Now if you like we can all have a fight here, right here, right now if you like, but then we'll all be late. Whatdya say to that, douche?'

Ace's face went red with embarrassment before thinking it over and then making a decision. The two thugs holding Rex and me let us go, but I was dropped to the floor and then I was kicked in the ribs. Ace smirked at my growl before walking away.

'You two alright?' Kylie asked us as we picked ourselves up.

'Never better,' I said. 'But that was so great when you told him that he'd lose a testicle if he touched you again.'

Everyone smirked at that as well. 'Hey I don't mean to break up our party here, but we have only a few minutes to get to the station.'

'Okay then, let's go.' I started walking down the hall, everyone following.

We made it to the station just in time as it took off. Semen was counting the seconds as we boarded.

Our group sat at the back booth. There was a space for six, two rows and three on each side. To tell you the truth it was a really great moment, sitting there with my new best friends altogether, even though the empty chair on the other side did remind me of Kylie's absence.

The doors leading to our booth slid shut with a painful lock, and then I felt my back getting locked to the seat through the armour. It must have been magnetized. There was no way I'd be making an escape today, I thought as I buried my hands in my head.

'Why did they do that?' I asked. 'Where would we go?'

Cell shrugged. 'You wouldn't believe how much security has changed here, and it's still changing. After you escaping and destroying DreadZone, Vox is ever so careful to make sure nothing slips up. And it didn't help that one guy tried to jump out of the ship when it was landing.'

'Really?' Rex asked. 'What happened to him?'

'He landed in a cave that was invested with tettramites. You get the picture.'

(A/N: Listen to the song Band of Horses – The Funeral whilst you read this next bit. I've seen other authors say this is really effective and it is. I've tried it and it adds a whole new emotional level to the story. Do try it out now.)

I looked out the window and looked at the distant planets that we were passing. Sprawling cities, resorts, islands, snowy mountains, space stations and more inhabited them.

Why did I have to be stuck here, a prisoner of a psycho path, grinding through every torturous day when freedom was so close that I could almost taste it?

Why did it have to be me, I thought as a tear dripped down my eye. I had my helmet on, so no one could see it. My body was shaking. Clank was out there. My best friend was still waiting for me. He had been for more than six months now. I had no idea what he was thinking. I'd never seen said goodbye to him. I'd never even turned back. I hadn't known that I was going to be taken away for so long, I couldn't have. But I still didn't say goodbye. I never asked myself this: what if was the last time I ever saw him? What if this was the last moment we shared together, after all these happy years? What if something happened and it all ended.

All those years. Gone.

I lay back in the chair and turned my face to the side of the chair. Everyone was talking about something else, but they all knew I wanted a quite moment.

I could almost see his face, those green metallic eyes staring at me with sadness. With pity. I probably wouldn't ever see those eyes again; and eventually they would fade and fade away, as my memory was chipped away of it until there was nothing left, and the only thing I had left was a hollow heart, beating as I remembered our time but not his face.

All that time, diminished.

(Okay, end of song. What did you think? Please tell me what you thought of this part in your review. If that makes any sense to you guys.)

We landed in about an hour. The tears were gone, and all that was left was revenge. Revenge and hate. I was going to get out of this mess, and I was going to make those responsible pay, even if it was the last thing I ever did.

We all stood on the platform that the ship let us off at. Ace and his gang stood with him. Farron managed to send a quick middle finger in his direction before any one else saw her. Ace clenched his fists.

'Okay guys, your objective is to protect two dozen eggs of some sort of strange chicken. Each person will be given them. There are weapons scattered all the around the arena. Most of them can't kill, but maybe you'll find ones that do. Use them to attack the other teams, or protect your eggs. Winner will be the one who has the most eggs. You can either take the eggs for yourself, or you can destroy them, but keep in mind that if you want to destroy them you'll be increasing the risk if you get captured, and that eggs from other teams are worth one-fourth of yours. It'll last the entire day. You'll be awarded ten thousands bolts, two thousands experience points and a day off. Losers will have to go on a twenty mile hike with 20kg backpacks. Anybody who cheats will spend a week in the detention block. Any questions?'

'Yes,' Ace said smugly, glancing in our direction. 'When we capture the other teams, what are we allowed to do to them to get the eggs?'

Typical Ace.

'Everything, except you can't kill them…well actually you can , but you have to stop when they give up the eggs. That doesn't mean you can't hold them hostage for one hour's time.'

Ace grinned madly. I flexed my back. I knew this was going to be trouble.

'We'll give you a ten minute head start to hide yourself or make a base or whatever. If any of you do anything before the whistle sounds then you'll be in deep trouble. Make sure you decide who carries the eggs and how many. The last thing you want is someone getting caught with all the eggs.' They started handing out the boxes. I opened them and saw they weren't eggs at all. They were mock grenades that could be crushed under your boot. Each person was given two dozen of them.

I saw there were seven teams in total. That meant with five in each team there were 490 eggs in total, but I also I knew that I had to be careful about the whereabouts of Ace and his team especially.

We started running towards the old buildings. The arena was massive. It contained old and new buildings, caves, mines, forests, lakes, a sand dune and even a cliff face. It was stifling hot and our pace was slowed by the time we got to the one of the buildings. I heard a voice in my ear.

'Ratchet!' Kylie hissed in my ear. 'Be careful, they have…' it was cut out suddenly. I heard Semen's voice on the line. 'Sorry Kylie, you're not meant to communicate with your team on this mission. Looks like you'll be locked in your quarters for the rest of the day darling!'

It was disconnected. I did know one thing though; we were in a lot of trouble.

'Let's sort ourselves out,' I said. 'We can't carry more than two dozen each, so going out and hunting the others out now will be a risk, but we should position ourselves wisely.'

'I'm a great sniper,' Koren said. 'I can get to the top of the building and aim for them easily.'

'That's a good idea,' I said, 'but we also need some here in the building aiming for the door in case anyone comes in.'

'We're at a loss without ammo and guns though,' Farron said. 'So that's going to be the trickiest part of all.'

I had to think this through. If some of us went and looked for weapons, we were in great peril if we were caught, but if we left one person with too many eggs…

The whistle broke my concentration. It had begun. Fantastic.

'Okay,' I said. 'Me and Rex will go out and hunt for the weapons. We're the fastest so we can run quickly if we're found. We'll give you all our eggs to be on the safe-side.'

'Look here,' Farron said, pointing to rotted door in the building. 'Let's see how strong that door is, shall we?'

'My pleasure.' Koren went to the door and kicked out at it, shattering it to bits.

Inside was better than anyone of us thought. There were sniper rifles, buzz blades, rocket launchers, shotguns, bombs, the lot, and it all came with plenty of ammo.

We all started taking the weapons. It felt great to have a rocket launcher in my hands once again. I grinned as I realized I could do whatever I wanted to do to Ace with this weapon.

'We'd better split up,' I said. 'We don't want to get found all together.'

'Good idea,' Koren said. 'I'll take the sniper gun.' He picked it up and loaded it with ammo. He then went over to the balcony and peered around the corner, looking for the other teams.

'Me and Rex will go out looking for the others,' I said. 'We should all split up in two until then. We meet back here every hour, and if you happen to see Ace or anyone on his team, go for him. I don't care what you do as long as he ends up losing.'

'You think we need the invitation?' Cell grinned.

Me and Rex exited the building and started running. We were carrying a lot of weapons and ammo, and that slowed us down.

'Let's try searching some of the buildings,' I said, pointing to a three storey rectangular building. 'We might find someone there.'

'Or walk into a trap,' Rex said.

'Good point. Let's be more careful then that.'

We crawled along to the building, careful not to make a sound. We then pressed our backs against it, trying to hear something from inside. I got a gas bomb out. If I heard anything I would throw it inside.

It wasn't long before we heard a skidding noise and someone talking. I threw the bomb inside and charged with ammo blazing at the same time. Through the gas I saw there were three of the 4th team. They were all coughing as they didn't even have their helmets on. Rex tripped them all up and I pointed guns at them as they writhed on the floor.

'Eggs,' I said. 'Or you get three of these in the kneecaps.'

They didn't even argue, they meekly handed them over. I smashed every single one of them. It felt good destroying them all only twenty minutes in.

'Thanks for that,' Rex yelled as we ran outside before they could get up and come after us. 'It was fun.'

Then he suddenly fell to the ground as a net pinned him down. I jumped out of the way just in time as another net came my way.

I saw that Team 2 was running this way. I started firing the buzz blades, pleased to see that I got two of them down, but it wasn't enough. They were coming closer. A net almost pinned me down too, but I jumped out of the way in time.

'Go!' Rex yelled. 'Now!'

I didn't want to leave him, but I knew I had no choice. All they would do was destroy my eggs as well. I threw a shockwave bomb in their direction before taking off. I smirked when I saw that I had tripped them all up with the bomb.

The smirk died on my lips when I saw a ship as speeding my way. It was about the size of a car, but then I saw Team 6 inside. They were all armed. I started running but one of them threw an Eltape at me. Eltapes zoomed in on their target and tripped them up and then tied up them. I looked down and saw my legs were now bound together.

They were driving back now, either to run me over or shoot me until I gave my eggs up. Ten seconds before they reached me I saw the car flip on the side and upside down. I looked and saw that Farron was standing there, gun smoking, a grin on her face.

She ran to me and un-tied my legs. Team 6 were starting to crawl out of the car, but they were dizzy and wouldn't be gunning for us for a minute. I looked for Rex and saw that he was being dragged away by the other Team. I wanted to run after him, but Farron stopped me.

'Don't. If you do that they'll have you and him. Besides, they can only hold him hostage for about an hour.'

Reluctantly I listened to her. I started running back to our base, growing more and more weary with each step.

We decided we were all going to stay here for a while. They didn't know where we were and it was going to be hard for anyone to sneak up on us. I took my helmet off, glad to breathe fresh air. My helmet was once again streaked with sweat and grime. I didn't even want to look in the mirror.

'I hope they don't hurt him,' I said.

'They won't if he gives up the eggs,' Farron said. 'But with the rewards for winning so high and the punishment so harsh I don't think they'll be taking it easy on him.'

I glumly nodded.

'Oh crap,' Koren said from his sniper position. 'Ace is here, and he's looking for us.'

I ran to the ledge. I saw Ace going through each and every building, searching for us. I noticed that some of the members from Team 3 were hiding in the building. They threw them all out. Literally. They threw them out of the windows and onto the ground inside. I saw Ace kick every single one of them in the ribs and head until they gave up their eggs.

Then they saw us looking at them. Koren fired a shot from his gun, hitting of Ace's team mates. He kept firing again and again until I saw that his eggs were destroyed, both of them.

'I'm out,' Koren said as he threw the gun to the floor. Ace's team started heading our way. 'We need to get some more ammo for our guns.'

'What we really need to do is find a way to get out of here quickly,' I said.

'Not really. We sealed the entrances. There was a code built in to the building. The only way they'll be getting in will be if they drive a truck through it.'

I looked down and saw that Ace and his team were trying (and failing) to get into the building. I laughed at the pathetic expressions of anger on their faces.

'Out of the way!' Farron and Cell were dragging a huge bucket to the ledge. I saw that it was the bladder remains of an Agorian. I was sick at the smell of it.

'Where'd you get that?' I coughed.

'It was in the corner on the room. It'll be useful now.'

They tipped the bucket over the side of the ledge, and then threw the bucket down with it. There were yells and screams when they realized what exactly had been poured over them. We were all on the floor, laughing so much that we had stitches in our sides. I could barely breathe I was laughing so much. My lungs were sore as if I'd been punched in the stomach and then tickled. I looked over the edge and saw them all again and covered with the muck and I fell back again, laughing.

After about ten minutes we stopped. My lungs were in a lot of pain now, and the adrenaline was pumping through my body like mad, soaring through my skull as I grinned ear to ear.

My grin stopped though, when I saw what they were doing.

Ace and two of his teammates were driving a massive spacevan, and they were heading it our way, and into the building. We had about five minutes before they reached us.

Farron pulled at my arm. 'Come on, I know what to do.'

I followed her as she ran downstairs and out the building. She had in her hands a large steel cable. She started tying it around the near-by tree and buildings. In three minutes she had made a massive connection of the steel cables. I wondered what it was for.

'Just wait,' she grinned as the truck came ever closer.

The truck was a few metres away and I could see Ace's face tainted with anger and madness. Seconds before he reached us, the van suddenly was flipped up into the air and thrown backwards, doing a backflip at the same time. It crashed with such a sound I didn't think they could still be alive, but surely enough, they were. But they weren't going anywhere any time soon.

Farron ran up to them, putting a gun under Ace's chin. 'Hand them over.'

'You don't have the guts to do it,' Ace sneered.

'Ratchet.' Farron stood back.

'My pleasure,' I said. I walked over to Ace and kicked at him with my foot in the face, almost shattering his jaw. He yelled out as blood starting dripping down his chin.

'Okay,' he sobbed as he gave each and every one of them over to us. Not only did I crush every single one of them, I threw them at Ace and his team, splashing mock slime and yoke all over them.

I saw the shadow behind me too late. One of the members from the other teams had sneaked up behind me and threw himself on me in some sort of tackle. I was sure my ribs were crushed.

Farron starting firing at him but his armour deflected it. He then dragged me to my feet and held me in an iron grip.

One of Ace's teammates came over and smiled cruelly as he punched me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. Then he kicked out at my stomach. I felt an enormous pain. He must have hit an organ or vein, or something like that. I started coughing up blood as Farron gasped.

'Hey, he's mine, piss off.' The guy who held me started yelling to Ace's teammate. 'I want his loot.'

Then they both started fighting. I would have done something except I was badly injured. In the scandal they crushed half of my eggs. I swore as I tried to crawl away. When I did I looked up and saw Ace standing there, a tooth missing, and a look of pure animalistic violence on his face.

'Started without me?' I turned and saw Rex standing twenty metres away. He was holding a homing rocket launcher. He fired it, hitting everyone except me and Farron. I picked myself up somehow and started running towards our base building.

When we all got that I collapsed on the ground and ripped my armour open, even though I knew that taking your armour off at any time other outside of the main station areas and your quarters was a big rule breaker. I was bleeding heavily and I was on the verge of passing out.

Farron knelt down by me and started putting pressure on the wound, trying to stop the heavy bleeding.

The others were all out, fighting the others. Through the window I saw that half of the teams had assembled and were all fighting, not taking any notice of each others eggs or which team was from which team.

I barely remembered the next two hours, as all I did was lie motionless on the concrete floor as the bleeding got less and less. Farron stayed by my side the entire time. I saw her face when I was in and out of consciousness.

Everyone had gotten back sooner or later. They hadn't lost too many eggs.

'We've got 38 eggs left,' Cell said. 'I hope we win, but losing would be terrible.'

'Well since almost all of Ace's team had their eggs crushed twice, we don't much to worry about,' Farron said, stifling a smile.

I started laughing but then I just ended up coughing up more blood and layback on the floor.

The sky was getting darker and it was finally time to head back. We collected all our gear and started walking back, or in my case, stumbling.

We were the last to be at the base. They were all waiting for us to arrive. I took a look at Ace and his team. They looked a mess, but considered what happened they should have looked worse.

'Let's start counting shall we?' Semen said as he turned to Dorcas and Minar behind him. I hadn't noticed them before. I was surprised to see them still here from when DreadZone I was still around.

They counted every single one of our eggs and put them through a machine. The total came up on the leaderboard.

I anxiously waited for the final score. The last thing I wanted was to be last.

Team DarkStar – 3rd Place.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I looked for Ace's place.

Team Hardlight – 6th Place

My jaw dropped open. They were one egg ahead of the other team who had come last, and yet I had smashed nearly every single egg of theirs'.

'It looks like Team Calax is last,' Semen said. 'A 20 mile hike with 20kg backpacks for you!'

'We had 24 eggs,' one of the members from that team said. 'We made sure.'

'And Team Hardlight has 25 eggs,' Semen said. 'Tough luck.'

'I smashed every single one of at least three member's,' I said as Ace gave me a killer look. 'Check the logos.'

Minar narrowed his eyes at me. 'If you're wasting our time you'll waste one day of your miserable life in The Hole, Lombax.' He then went to check the logos of the eggs again to see if any of Ace's were from another team's.

Ace looked as if he could barely restraint himself from standing on my throat. Everyone wanted to see this happen so he could get in trouble. No one liked him anyway. Not that he was paying attention to that right now.

'Aha,' Minar said. 'It looks like two of the eggs from team Ace Hardlight is from another team. That means that with twos point taken away Team Hardlight is down to 23 eggs and last place.

The moment feel so good that all my injury and all my pain went away as a warm, fuzzy feeling overflowed my body as I glanced at the hate and look of dismay on Team Hardlight's face. Another thug came out of a second ship that was parked there.

'Okay you guys, get on now I'll make it 25 kgs for 25 miles.'

They all trooped on board the ship. We all watched it as it sailed away and to another planet for their 20-mile hike.

I didn't think I'd ever felt better, knowing Ace Hardlight was now being forced to go on that treacherous walk. I knew that it would be even harder than normal because they had 20kg backpacks and were they all exhausted after the day. I had never felt happier as I fed up on the thought over and over again.

When we landed however, it wasn't a happy occasion.

One of the thugs was standing there; one of the thugs that was close to Vox. Whenever he showed up, I knew there was going to be trouble.

'So Ratchet,' he said softly. 'Would you be able to tell me what this is?'

He played a video on a portable floating screen. It showed me lying on the floor earlier today, ripping some of my armour off and bleeding. It even showed Farron covering up the wound.

'You do realize that taking your armour off is in combat is against the rules, right?'

'Yes,' I said. I wasn't going to water it down or make excuses. That would make it seem pathetic. 'I did do it even though I knew it was against the rules.'

'And I helped him do it as well,' Farron said. 'I told him to take it off.'

The thug leaned against the wall and stroked his chin. 'You have no idea how hard it is to find someone here who is brave, honest, and not afraid to accept punishment. But in this case I can't make any changes because Vox himself gave the orders. Ratchet, you will be locked in the armour for one week and spend one day in a cell. Farron you'll spend three days there.'

I knew I couldn't appear weak because in DreadZone that was pure suicide. But it didn't make the punishment seem any lighter.

'Take them away,' the thug said. But then he went over and whispered to one of the guards, 'But make sure it's a good cell.'

That surprised me. I didn't know that he would do something like that for us. Maybe it was because we gave us an easy time. Possibly we had found a useful ally.

Farron seemed to know what I was thinking. She shook her head. 'You don't have many friends in here,' she said. 'We're the only ones. Learn that fast or you're dead.'

* * *

><p><em><strong>So...yeah. That's it for now guys. Remember to read, review and give any criticism that you possibly believe to be needed. Thanks!<strong>_


	6. A Chilling Hunt

**Hello people...yes I am still alive. **

**I haven't really paid much attention to my Fanfiction and the reason is that I feel that it's old and stale. I thought it up years ago and now I don't have much appeal for doing further work on it. But for your sake I will..especially the newest fan of mine who left a...number...of reviews for me...**

**Anyway, please Read and give feedback as you see fit. I made the chapter extra, extra long for you all. :)**

* * *

><p>We were both lead down to a lift. One of the thugs pressed the button for the first floor. He grinned at us.<p>

'I bet your thinking about escaping,' he said. 'Maybe you go to the top floors. You wanna get out, do you? All the buttons scan our fingerprints first. You try to scan your finger on these and it doesn't match-' He made a tsk sound '-the room fills with tear gas. How do ya like that, Lombax?'

I didn't say anything. The last thing I needed was for him to have a reason to hurt me.

We arrived at the floor. We were both pushed outside of the lift and into the brightly lit corridor. The first room was open. Me and Farron were both shoved inside. It was barren of anything, but it still had a bench to sit on and a window to look out of.

'Have fun.' The door behind us slided shut and locked.

'Now what?' I asked Farron. 'You been here before. What do we do?'

'We wait,' she said. 'You can't escape, and even if you do, they'll just make the punishment harder. Besides, this is nothing compared to what they could do to you, or what sort of place they could put you in.'

I knew how that felt. I felt a shiver spark down my spine as I sat on the bench.

The armour I was in was really uncomfortable, especially after a whole day of running and fighting for my life, but now I wouldn't be able to get out of it for a whole week.

'Do you really miss him?' Farron asked. It was no secret that she meant Clank.

I nodded as I looked out the window, seeing the cosmos darken as another day went to a close. Another day without Clank. It just increased the never-ending number of days that I'd been taken away from Clank for. I placed my hand on my forehead as I leaned forward.

'I don't know what he's thinking,' I said. 'I don't know if he thinks I'm alive or not, or if I've forgotten about him or not. He might even be thinking that I've left him, found a happier life and left him behind. And there's nothing I can do to show him that I'm still fighting to get back, that I'm still out there, missing him. I don't even know if he's waiting for me or not.'

'He is,' Farron said. 'I bet you now, he's sitting in the exact room that you left him in, hasn't moved from the spot. He's waiting for you to come back and he's never going to give up on you. I saw the recording of what happened when DreadZone blew up. He came back for you when he had ten seconds to get away. He still came for you. He's still there, waiting for you, and he will be if it's until the day he dies, but he won't give up. He'll be waiting for you. He knows you'll be back.'

I didn't know it now, but she would turn out to be wrong about part of what she said.

I swallowed, fighting back tears as I looked out the window. 'I don't even know where I am. I'm hundreds of hours away, and I'm trapped here until I escape or die. I don't know if he wants to wait for me for over six months. We probably went through time warps. It could have been years in time difference now. It could be decades.'

When Farron had no reply, I knew I was right. There was nothing more to be said.

'Ratchet,' Clank sighed. 'You really shouldn't be rushing off to battle like that constantly. It is dangerous.'

'Yeah, I know,' I said, blinking in surprise. What was happening? 'You know me.'

Clanked placed his robotic hand on his forehead. 'Exactly.'

'You'll be fine,' Talwyn said to me. I shook my head. This couldn't be right.

'You're dead,' I said. Talwyn frowned for a split second before smiling at me again. 'No I'm not. You've been watching Triangel, haven't you? Now you think you're life repeating itself. Silly Lombax.'

'That doesn't make sense,' I splattered, not believing that this was happening. 'You were killed. The Cragmites killed you. I remember it.' I turned to Clank, who gave me a blank stare. 'You haven't seen me for ages. What's happening?'

I stepped backwards as the round around me started to shake and collapse on itself. I growled and clutched my head as I closed my eyes.

When I opened them I saw that I was on an extremely small floating island. There was a citadel in the distance, and a larger island close by. The heat was intense, even though it was raining.

Then I looked at a silimar island next to me, and what I saw made my heart stop, and then shatter.

I saw myself and Clank, lying on the island next to each other, my own chest rising up and down rapidly as I gasped in breaths of air. What was this?

Then I remembered. It was when I rescued Clank from the Citadel. How long ago had that been? A few months ago? A year ago?

No. A lifetime ago.

But what was I doing here then?

I saw my mouth move and speak, but I couldn't hear the words. That didn't matter. I knew exactly what I was saying. I would have never forgotten those words.

Then I saw myself lie back after saying those words. Clank also relaxed. What I didn't see at the time was that when my eyes were closed, Clank itched closer to me and that he placed his head on my thumping chest. I saw his eyes close happily, a tear streaking down from his eye. I'd never seen Clank cry before. I didn't even know if robots could cry, though I saw now that they obviously could.

I smiled emptily, seeing my former self there. Knowing that I had a single happy moment to myself in a universe of hate and anguish.

What if I never him again?

My heart exploded inside my chest at the thought and my breathing came in gasps and tears dropped from my eyes. I had to keep myself under control. I slowly closed my eyes for a second, savouring the darkness.

When I opened them again I was lying on my back, watching as shadows wrapped past me. I heard strange noises as I tried to move but I found out I was almost paralysed.

I closed my eyes again, hoping it would all go away, only to cause it to increase, smothering me.

Never before have had I ever felt so lonely in my entire, short, miserable life.

When I opened my eyes again I was staring into the face of Kylie. She had been watching for me a while I guessed.

'He's awake guys!' She shouted. She then bent over me again. 'How long have I been here?' I muttered, as I realized I was still in the armour. Then I remembered everything that happened.

'Days,' she said sadly. 'Two or three. We were all worried sick about you.'

I didn't say anything, because I didn't really have the strength. It was unbearably hot and yet again I was soaked in sweat. I'd have to stay in this armour for a week. Fantastic.

'What happened when I was gone?' I said quietly when I felt I had to strength to speak.

'You passed out,' Farron said. 'And you wouldn't move. All your muscles locked up and you were a dead weight. I don't know what happened, but I really didn't think I'd ever see you again.'

'We all thought that,' Kylie said quietly.

I lay back against the metal bench, my gut twisting with such turmoil I was in physical pain. My life was becoming a nightmare with each passing day, and there didn't seem to be any possible way we would be able to escape and remain alive at the same time.

There was still hope. It was the size of a gemstone in an ocean, sinking deeper with each passing second. But it was still hope. I wasn't going to let go of it anytime soon, I told myself as I sank back into slumber.

For the next few days I mentally trained myself to show no weakness. This entire place pried on weakness and fear. I knew that I had to fight them with all my might, because once I went under it would be too late.

I came into our quarters, clutching the side of my body as it burned with pain. I had been on an obstacle course that nearly killed me. I had been cut by a spinning blade and then shot. If I hadn't thrown myself to the side in both instances they wouldn't be able to pick up the pieces in a thousand years. I shuddered.

'Let me see that,' Farron said as I slumped in a chair with a clang, ripping my armour off. She glanced at the wound at the same time as I did. It wasn't a pretty sight. My flesh had been cut clean across the side of my body, and a single bullet hole had made its way into my ribcage.

Still, it could be been a lot worse.

Farron looked increasingly worried as she looked at it. 'This is going to be painful,' she said, touching my injury as I resisted the urge to scream at the top of my lungs. 'I'll need everyone here, along with a few tools to do the job.'

I didn't like the sound of that.

Everyone came into the room, but they weren't in good conditions either except for Koren.

'You got everything I need?' Farron asked him. She had obviously instructed him already. He nodded.

'Good.' She went over to the table and handed me something. I glanced at it with disbelief. It was one of the most expensive and strongest drinks in the whole universe. One sip at a young age caused you to be drunk for two weeks straight. I didn't even want to know what would happen if you drank the whole bottle. I did know that it helped combat extreme pain, however.

'The whole thing?' I asked wearily. Farron shook her head.

'No way. Have a mouthful, though. But only when we're ready,' she said as I tried to force that lump of fear that was congealed in my throat.

Farron handed me the bottle as I sat down on the bench, my heart threatening to rip itself out of my heart. Rex came over to me and pressed his hands against my wound, as Farron grabbed her equipment and held them in a ready position.

I grabbed the bottle and forced a mouthful of the vile stuff down my throat, ignoring the burning in my throat as it raced down to my lungs. My whole frame shook at the acid and completely evil taste, but I could barely feel anything else happening, even though I knew that I should have been unable to with-stand the pain. At least the drink worked.

After almost 2 hours of sipping the drink and experiencing random bursts of sudden pain it was over. They had somehow cleaned up the wound and taken the bullets out. I was too busy focusing on my own pain to take any notice though. I sat up, groggily.

'Thanks,' I said, as the dull ache at the side of my body died down.

'It's no problem,' Farron said. 'Besides, it's not like we were going to let you stay like that, were we?'

I then realized that I had people here that I could count on, and that was what could help me survive DreadZone and everything that came with it. It was all here at my disposal.

The question I had to ask myself was if I was strong enough to make it.

I drifted off to sleep almost instantly after that. We all did. I was always tired here. My muscles were always aching, my bones were constantly on fire, and I had to force myself to take each and every step that I did.

It was hell.

That night as I slept soundly in my bunk, having nightmares and twisted dreams, I was jolted awake by someone gripping me by the shoulders and slamming me face down on the bunk as they gagged me with some sort of tape.

At first I thought that I was being kidnapped by Ace and his gang, but I turned and saw that my assailants were three Gladiator Managers (GM for short). Their title was self-explanatory.

'It's standard protocol. We set up a course for you in the middle of the night randomly, and you come the hard way. This isn't a punishment,' one of them said as he handcuffed my hands behind my back with a laser-iron bar. It was pointless to resist. I turned my head and saw Rex and Kylie getting the equally pleasant awaking.

I was forced to my feet, and then half dragged, half carried outside. When we were in the loading bay they ripped my gag off. I turned around and saw quite a few people that I knew along for the ride, including Farron, Cell and Koren. I looked at the GM who was escorting Kylie and noticed his ominous broken and bloodied noise. I grinned to myself.

'Can you guys let me go? I'm physically capable of walking,' I growled as they shuffled me along to the ship that was waiting for everyone. The GM to my right snorted.

'Laddy, you'll be begging you to carry you after you've completed this. If you do complete it. Enjoy it now.'

_Oh no..._

They took me to the nearest ship and into one of the cubicles stationed there. They obviously wanted me to change into my armour. But before I could make a move, robotic limbs slid out of the ceiling and locked the armour together and onto me. It only took a few seconds, and saved me the trouble of doing it myself. I'd think that this wouldn't be so bad after all except Id just be getting killed sooner. Everything around here came with a catch.

I exited the cubicle and came out to the main cabin, where at least 25 other gladiators were, obviously gotten brought here in the same way.

I avoided looking at them and sat down next to where my friends were. I hadn't bothered making any additional allies around here. That would mean revealing my identity to start, and once that happened, God knows what would occur next.

The trip didn't take long – maybe ten minutes or so. It was almost like a shuttle bus, except the common ones aren't equipped with laser walls, ankle shackles ("just in case", they said. It seemed like a reminder to me) and tasers. At this rate I wouldn't be on any other normal shuttle bus any time soon.

My brooding was broken by the landing and the doors opening. There weren't any negotiations to what we had to do. I stepped outside. It was freezing; the brutal weather even penetrated my thick armour. I didn't even want to think about what it would be like without armour on. Hopefully I wouldn't have to find out.

'Since you're all here, I thought we could have some fun,' one of the instructors said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 'The ship will be flown an unknown location on this glacier. If you make it there before the sun comes up in 10 hours, you'll be taken back to your quarters. But the slight catch is: that we'll be hunting you down through the glacier. If we catch you, you'll be dragged all the way back here where you'll stay for 15 minutes. We'll be doing it all night, and it won't stop.

'But if you can make it to the ship before that, you've won. There are tons of places to hides around here, but for the best places you'll be paying a very heavy price. You'll find out soon enough what they are.'

I turned around and saw that my friends had all gathered around. We were going to need each other even more than ever now.

'That's all there is. There are no other rules to abide by. But remember this: if you're thinking of getting your enemies captured on purpose, they'll be able to tell us where you are and what you're doing. Just a little hint.'

I grinned to myself. At least we weren't all trying to kill each other in the meantime, and we could work together. Looking at Ace and his crew, though, made me doubt that heavily.

'Anyone who doesn't make it back within 10 hours will have to spend three days alone on the glacier with no food and no cover. So maybe if you're thinking of camping somewhere until this is all over you'd best think again.'

The cold was unbearable. My armour somehow didn't manage to stop it completely and I felt it against my fur – fast freezing my sweat. It was going to be a long night, and I knew that the brutal GMs weren't going to give us a chance if they could help it – but the prospect of spending three nights here was unimaginable. I didn't even want to think about what it would be like.

But I'd survived worse.

Then suddenly the warning bell sounded and it had started.

I gritted my teeth and pushed off, my boots slashing the ice as I ran. The rest of them caught up to me.

'If we stick together we might get caught easier,' Farron said in short breaths as we ran. 'But splitting up is also a risk.'

I nodded as we approached a cave. It had a tunnel was that extremely small, though we'd all fit. It would be a squeeze without question, though.

'Hurry,' I yelled as Farron almost dived head-first into the tunnel and twisting through until she reached the other side.

One down, five to go. We were still extremely vulnerable and could get caught at any time.

'You next, Ratchet,' Kylie said. I didn't wait around to argue, I got down on my knees and dug away at the tunnel as I wouldn't have been able to fit with my bulky armour otherwise. Then I felt myself being pulled as Farron grabbed hold of my hand as I squirmed and twisted my body to fit through.

When I did though, I saw that it was a low but wide cave with small branching tunnels; possibly to other caves or hideouts. It didn't look artificial, but with the technology these days they would have been able to easily create something like this.

Rex came next. With half of us safe inside, I'd had hoped that we weren't coming to get any trouble.

I was wrong.

Suddenly a yell rang out in the night. I looked through a tiny hole in the ice and saw that some of the hunters had found us. They weren't going to be getting to us easily, but the other three were still outside.

'Get in!' I almost screamed as I stop fooling myself. They were only a few metres away now. There was no way all three of them would make it inside. Someone at least wouldn't make it.

I heard Kylie screaming as she was caught and tied up. Cell had also been captured as he ran to Kylie's deference. Koren was struggling through the tunnel as they got a hold on his leg and tried to drag him back. He kicked out at them, crushing his assailant's nose with his metal-studded boot. The man cried out in agony and let go of his foot. Koren scrambled to his feet inside.

Just as Kylie and Cell were being dragged away, I saw Cell lash out one final time at the tunnel. Suddenly the tunnel entrance collapsed on itself; the ice supporting all the thick snow and more ice on top was crushed and brecciaed the entrance. Now they would have no chance of getting to us this way. I breathed a sigh of relief, and then I remembered that Kylie and Cell were going to be taken all the way back to the start. I shivered, and not just from the cutting cold.

I turned my head and pointed down the tunnel. 'We've got nowhere else to go.'

We started trekking along the ice cave. It was tall but very narrow, and more than once we needed to smash the ice with our armour to even get through safely.

'How long do you think this will go for?' Farron coughed, her voice echoing throughout the cave. I didn't answer, as my guess was as good as her's would be.

Suddenly a shot rang out in the tunnel and my hearing was completely blocked. If you've spent a fair amount of time playing games where you chuck flashbangs around and the screen goes white you'll know what it's like.

Except it's a thousand times worse.

The light blinded me, searing my eyeballs. I felt a bullet graze past me. Farron yelled out and I tripped over something and my back smashed against the ice. I tasted blood in the mouth as my ears popped and I soundlessly screamed in pain. I opened my eyes and instantly wished I hadn't. The fierce light could have blinded me for life.

I curled up in a small ball and shut my eyes as tight as I possibly could. I couldn't hear a single thing at all, so after a few minutes I opened my eyes again. I saw Farron and Koren taking cover behind blocks of ice as someone on the other side of the cave was sending a spray of bullets our way. Who the hell would want to kill us? Didn't we all have enough problems already?

Then I realized that it was nothing to do with killing us. All we needed was a simple wound – as such as bullet in the leg – and we'd be slowed down and easy prey. We'd have no chance of making to the ship, and now that we provided distraction it would be much easier for anyone to get there themselves.

Screw them.

I suddenly jumped up and darted to the other side of the cave. With the heavy armour weighing me down that wasn't at all easy. I then skidded down a hill of ice and out of harm's reach. Seeing what I was doing Farron and Koren ran after me.

I stood up and gazed around at my new surroundings. There was an exit to the outside here. I could hear others at a distance, running as fast as they could, with the GM hot on their tails.

'This is all a game for them, isn't it?' I asked, spitting out the words. 'It's about pitting us against each other and enjoying themselves.'

Farron put her hand on my shoulder gently. 'Welcome to the new DreadZone,' she said. 'Before they wanted some action. Now they're out to torture, be-little, and hurt us. It's pure sadism, and Ace is Vox's right hand man. He only par-takes in the games so he can gain his former glory and see us suffer.'

I let this cold reality suddenly sink in. I was never going to win my freedom. I would be toyed with until the end of my days; in the sickest way possible. They didn't want me to die; they wanted me to live long enough to suffer.

And I was going to make sure they never got the chance.


	7. It's Time For A Little Game

**I'm personally surprised I managed to get this all out within a few hours...I'm probably going to pick up the pace on my FF now. Enjoy, and R&C. :)**

* * *

><p>'We should go,' Koren said. 'It's not safe here, and it's only a matter of time before they find us.'<p>

We exited the cave and saw Cell and Kylie again. They ran over to us.

'We escaped,' Cell said, out of breath. 'They're coming after us. We should get a move on.'

Nobody wasted breath in replying. We all ran towards the forest, allowing ourselves to hide in the trees.

I looked up once we were in the forest. The trees branched out and were easy to climb. They were also surprisingly tall.

'Maybe if we climbed the tree we could see where the ship is,' I said. 'And we might be able to stay hidden.'

Everyone looked up at the trees at my suggestion.

'It's a good idea, but in case we get caught we'd better not all do it,' Koren said. 'Maybe we should split up?'

'No,' I said. 'If we split up then we can't help each other, and even if I find the ship I'm not leaving without every single one of you.'

'Well better one person makes it than no one,' Koren muttered.

'I don't care,' I growled. 'I've lost too much to abandon any of you, and that's the way it's going to be.'

Before anyone could say anything else I felt something in the back of my neck. I reached out and pulled something out from my armour. It was a tranquilizer shot. It was designed to pierce armour but not draw blood while still doing its job. I saw that Farron had also been shot, and then a flashbang went off. My eyes crossed and my ears roared with blood. I saw that Rex and Koren were wrestling with somebody with a sniper gun – probably loaded with the tranquilizer shots.

I felt my arms being wretched behind my back and locked with some sort of handcuffs. I saw that Rex had punched his assailant in the stomach and he was on the ground unconscious, but they were still in danger of being captured.

That obviously didn't matter to them. Despite yelling for them to get away, they came running after me and Farron. The GM were dragging us away, but Cell came running up and with a massive jump through himself through the air and smashed his knee in the jaw of my captor. Blood spattered all over the snow as the second guard was dealt with. Then suddenly we were free.

Me and Farron were still delirious from the tranquilizer and we couldn't walk. They had to drag us to a small cave with a hidden entrance near the trees. I felt a jolting pain as I was thumped down on a block of ice.

'You guys have to go,' Farron said. 'I can barely keep myself conscious, let alone run for my life. If they find us then we'll all be captured.'

'It doesn't matter,' Kylie said. 'We'll fight them if they have to.'

'Actually that's a good idea,' I said. 'Hide, and when they come to find us, ambush them and take everything they have.'

Rex considered this for a few minutes before looking at everyone else for their ideas.

'What do you think then?' he asked. The decision was made for everyone when I saw two of the GM heading our way. The others darted to the sides of the cave, lying in wait.'

'Look who we have here,' one of them said, nudging me with his foot. 'The infamous Ratchet. Vox will be pleased to know that I captured and held you hostage.'

'No, you have to let us go don't you?' A small spike of fear crept into my voice.'

The GM took his helmet off. I saw that he was an Orc, a race known for their brutal and savageness in battle, but also for their loyalty and unusually high intelligence.

'The rules are a tad different for you, my furry friend,' he grinned. 'We're making sure that once you're captured you'll be spending the rest of the run in steelcut rope and chains.'

'You do realize that I also assisted you in their capture, do you not?' The second GM turned to face the Orc. 'You are not going to take all the credit.'

The Orc shrugged. 'I don't care what happens. If you want to lick Vox's shoes clean then you're welcome to if ya want.'

Before anything else happened the others all sprang out of their hiding places and tackled the two GMs. The second one was instantly knocked down, but the Orc was giving them a struggle.

'Just you wait until we've got you in the Chop Block,' he spat. 'I'll paint the walls crimson with your blood everyday for the next three years.'

Koren then stamped his foot on the Orc's face, not only dazing him but also breaking three of his teeth

'I hate those bastards,' he muttered, taking the weapons and ammo that the GM had with them while the Orc growled in pain.

'What do we do now?' Farron asked? 'I think I'll have my strength re-gained in a few minutes.'

'We do this.' Koren ominously loaded the shotgun and aimed it at the Orc.

'Time to sing,' he said.

'Get that shit out of my face,' The Orc yelled, ''fore I shove it up your arse.'

'Where is the next transport hub meant to land,' Koren asked quietly. He pulled the safety off the gun and aimed it at the Orc's leg.

'It won't kill you, but it'll sure give ya a lot of pain,' he said. 'No one will know it was us. We'll be long gone and by the time anyone reaches you you'll be dead. Save yourself the trouble.'

The Orc pressed his thick lips ever more tightly and refused to say a thing. Koren and Rex shared a glance.

'We did warn you,' Rex took the gun off Koren and was about to pull the trigger when the second GM spoke.

'You have to head west near the glacier. It's about five or ten minutes walk. There's a frozen lake nearby.'

I seriously doubted he was telling the truth, but it seemed good enough for Rex and Koren.

'Righty then.' Cell grabbed the gun and slammed it against the side of the Orc's head. He was knocked unconscious instantly. The same was done to the second GM.

They dragged me and Farron over to a large cluster of trees. I wanted to shut my eyes and drift off to sleep, but I knew how that would end. As if I didn't have enough problems of my own. I spat in the snow, seeing my saliva a deep crimson colour confirmed my fears. I was probably suffering from an internal bleeding. My day just couldn't get any better, could it?

'We should go,' Cell said, getting to his feet. 'The sooner we're out of here the better.'

I nodded groggily as I attempted to stand up. I was tired, but the thought of what would happen to me if I didn't make it forced me to keep going.

We headed off the in the direction of the lake, hoping we'd find what we were looking for. There were only a few hours left in the daylight, and we'd have no chance of finding the ship at night.

'There it is,' Farron yelled. My head jerked as I looked up. The ship was there alright. It was on the edge of the glacier. It was painted a crisp white...which was probably why finding it wasn't easy. Not that they were going to make it easy for us of course.

We'd almost reached the ship by now. Rex had even started to run up the walkway that led into the ship, with Farron close behind him.

I turned around. Something wasn't right. I'd been in danger so many times that when I was walking into a trap I had a tingling feeling inside that warned me. What if...

'Gotcha!' Within a few seconds Ace Hardlight and two of his team members had jumped out from behind the ship and tackled me to the ground, snapping cuffs on my wrists. I heard Koren yell something and Rex came running back down the walkaway. He jumped in the air and launched a kick at Ace's head. He dodged it, but Rex managed to crash into his friend and crush him against the side of the ship. With Ace distracted I kicked up in the air and caught Ace under the chin. He was then tackled by Kylie, who plunged her thumbs into his eye balls, but Ace's other friend knocked her to the ground.

I turned and saw that some of the GMs were running towards us. With a sinking heart I knew we'd been set up.

'Go! Go!' I yelled. Everyone except Kylie turned around a ran back on the ship. If they reached it they were safe.

Ace gripped the back of my neck and yanked me to my feet. 'Here's one of them,' he said. He then threw me down and kicked Kylie in the stomach. 'And here's another. The rest of them are on the ship.'

The Captain GM shook his head. 'Two things Mr. Hardlight,' he spat the word Mr. like it was poison. 'First off all, 4 of them reached the ship. It doesn't matter how, but anyone on the ship is safe. Fair is fair.'

Ace narrowed his eyes. 'You never told me that. We had a deal.'

'And you never asked me. About the second thing,' the GM leaned forward. 'What makes you think you and your buddies are getting away?'

Ace paled. 'What?' He screeched as two other GMs snapped cuffs on him and his buddies. 'You said if I got them for you you'd let me go.'

'You should have gone when you had the chance,' the GM replied icily. 'And we never make deals. I don't care how much you suck up to Vox, in here you're under my rules. What I say goes.'

While this whole convo was going on, I had gotten the keys to the cuffs and unlocked them. I was pretending to be dazed, but I just waiting for the right moment to race to the ship. Kylie was waiting as well.

'You can't do this!' Koren yelled from the ship. 'They made it. It isn't fair.'

The GM turned around and looked at him. 'You take one more step off that ship and we'll make sure you don't ever get back on. Do I make myself..'

That was the moment I needed. I got up on my knees and through myself forward and onto the ship. Kylie pounced up and starting running up the walkaway. I picked myself up and turned around, expecting the worst.

The GM just burst out laughing, while Ace looked like he would have butchered me with a pencil at that moment. As the ship took off I gave him the Ace and walked inside, grinning to myself.


	8. Rushes of Blood

**Alrighty, I had at least 4 drafts of this chapter created before I finally settled on this one - the least brutal one. So please R&R if you have feedback for me.**

* * *

><p>For a few weeks things seemed to be going back to normal. That is if there ever was a normal in DreadZone.<p>

We entered battles, tournaments and contests. Sometimes we won. Sometimes we didn't. People constantly died and the fame was given to those still breathing.

Just another day in DreadZone.

The six of us became fantastic friends. We'd saved each other's lives and brushed past deaths with seconds to spare. Together we'd just might have a chance of getting out of this blood thirsty place in one piece.

Little did we know of the tests to come.

'I'm too tired to go anywhere else now,' Farron sighed. We'd just gotten back from a long trek up a mountain. The last team to the top were kicked down again and had to repeat the 6 hour hike again without weapons. We'd make it to second last place within minutes. 'I'm just going to bed.'

Cell was injured so the rest of us went to the cafeteria. It still amazed me how the measly GM at the door managed to tell 8 foot tall Orcs to leave their weapons with him. He probably had as much choice as did we being here.

Before we could walk up to the line though, I felt myself being grabbed from behind. I wasn't going to get any prizes from guessing who it was.

'Why can't you just piss off and make somebody else's life miserable?' I sighed.

'You really want to start something in here?' Koren asked. 'Then what are we waiting for?'

Ace shook his head. 'Ah, you see I'm not interested in the rest of you,' he said as his group chuckled. 'I'm only here for him at the moment. Your time will all come eventually, but we're going to just have a bit of fun together. If you want to do anything about it, you'll just be making it harder for him.'

Kylie knew exactly what he meant. 'It doesn't have to be like this guys,' she said, knowing that her words meant nothing to the brute in front of her.

'It does for us,' Ace smirked. 'So now we'll be...'

I realized why they were distracting him. While they weren't looking Rex climbed on top of a table behind them and launched a vicious kick towards the back of Ace's head. He instantly went flying. I was thrown to the floor, dazed. His henchmen turned and Rex kicked one in the face, but one of the other swung their armoured arm and knocked Rex off balanced and on the ground.

Kylie started picking up chairs and smashing them over Ace's head while Koren was helping Rex. I got up and smashed my elbow in Ace's face. Blood splattered from his nose. Before I could do anything he punched me in the stomach and sent me flying into his other henchmen. One of them grabbed him and put me in an armlock while the other started punching me in the stomach.

I saw Rex was knocked to the ground again and Kylie was injured. The situation looked hopeless. Just about everyone else in the cafe was looking our way and cheering us on. They weren't going to get involved. Ace grinned through bloody teeth.

Before he reached me I saw Koren pick up a wooden table and smash it over Ace's head. I didn't expect it to do much, but it completely splintered the table, smashing it in half. Ace collapsed to the ground once again.

With his henchmen distracted, I locked my knees together and pushed off the henchman who was punching me. I was flown backwards by my own moment force, as well as the other guy. He flew backwards right into the hot stove. I felt a searing pain as he screamed with agony. I smelt burning flesh and skin.

I saw that some of the GMs were coming to get involved now. Sensing that the fight was coming to an end Rex gave Ace one of the most vicious kicks I'd ever seen in my life. He was lucky he didn't break his jaw. He felt someone yanking me to my feet. Everyone else got the same treatment. Koren and Kylie were nowhere to be seen. I was glad. If we were going to get in trouble the less of us the better.

'Righto,' the head GM said, tapping his foot. 'Care to explain why you all decided to suddenly try to kill each other and destroy this place?'

'They wanted to get us back for winning at our last tournament,' Ace said, wiping blood from his nose. He quickly winked at me.

'That's bullshit!' Rex yelled.

'Shut up,' the head GM growled. He didn't raise his voice, but nobody questioned his authourity. He thought for a few seconds. 'Right. Two these two to Chop Block,' he pointed at me and Rex. 'For three days. 2 days in level 4 and 1 in level 3.'

I would have gladly killed him and Ace at the same time right then. Not only did we get the raw end of the deal even though Ace started it, but he was getting away with it all and the GM believed him. I wanted to argue but deep down I knew that it would just make it worse.

Ace grinned slyly as me and Rex were dragged away. I didn't know what was in store for us, but I knew that it was in no way going to be good.

As it turned out, I'd been here before. When I came here with Farron to spend a few days locked up. But that was on level 1. We were now being taken to level 4.

I looked at the buttons and I saw that there were 20 levels in total. The last 5 needed special clearance. What went on in there I never hoped to find out. Little did I know what would happen.

Suddenly the door to the lift opened and we were hustled down a long hallway and into another room like almost looked like an office.

Suddenly I was thrown on the ground and my armour was suddenly ripped off. I guess it should have felt good to take it off for the first time in months, but I didn't notice that.

Then they turned me over and put some sort of harness over my back. Then they grabbed my legs and forced them forwards so that they were almost touching my back. Then they strapped them there. They grabbed my arms and twisted my behind my back and strapped down to where my legs were. Then they wrapped the harness around my back and neck before tightening it so if I tried to escape I'd choke myself.

My limbs felt like they wanted to tear themselves from my sockets. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to go through with it. I couldn't show them any suffering.

After Rex got the same treatment they opened up a small room that you had to stoop down in and threw me and Rex in there. It stunk of sweat and blood in there. I shivered from the biting cold.

'See you guys in two days if we happen to remember,' one of the GM grunted before chuckling to himself and slamming the down shut before locking it.

There was literally no light in here. I couldn't even see Rex. It was freezing cold, and the fact that I was in an excruciatingly painful position didn't help. The blood circulation was cut off to my limbs. The only thing I could do was press my body up against Rex's for a tiny bit of warmth.

'I promise you Ratchet that we'll get out of here,' Rex whispered. 'I don't care how long it takes or what I have to do, I'll get you out of here and home.'

'I don't know where home is anymore,' I replied. 'Talwyn's dead. I don't know how to get back to my sector anymore, and even if I did, what makes you think that they'll still al be waiting for me?'

'Don't you dare say that,' Rex growled. 'They would never leave you.'

'It's been a year,' I said, my voice trembling. 'They haven't heard from me in a whole year. I could be dead long ago for all they know. And how am I going to get out of this hellhole anyway? The whole universe hates me. I've pissed off so many people I've lost count.' I snorted. It was a humourless sound. 'I don't know what the point is anymore. Maybe this is my fate.'

'I don't believe in that bullshit,' Rex said. 'I barely even remember what my life was like before we met. I've just been on the run, living on different planets looking for odd jobs and getting in trouble. What happened was chance. There's no such thing as fate. Nothing could have made us be captured and tortured like this. And I'll spend every single waking moment fighting it.'

I listened to all this in silence. 'Whatever happens,' I said. 'I just want to you be with me. All of you. I need you. I know that if you guys never came along I'd have been killed a long time ago.'

We were both silent after that. I drifted in and out of sleep; a sleep devoid of dreams and warmth. I felt bullets ripping holes in me as I fell backwards and down.

I suddenly jerked awake, hitting my head on the ceiling of the tiny hole we were in. It took me a moment or two to collect my thoughts, but then I remembered where we were. With a gigantic cross between a sob and a sigh I lay back down again, feeling something hard dig into my back. I shifted my weight. It was probably a rock of some sort. It was amazing was managed to find itself in this shithole.

I just lay there motionlessly. There wasn't any point in closing my eyes...after all I couldn't see a single thing.

It was all a blur after that until the hole was opened up and we were dragged out. They took their sweet time unlocking the straps, but when they did I felt so good and painful at the same time. The blood rushed through my limbs and veins and brought life back to them. I stretched, feeling my muscles burn. I started to put my armour back on, feeling the warm and comfortable familiar apparel soak into my bones.

I was getting ready to walk out, but a GM blocked my path. 'Hold up. Where do you think you are going?'

'Um...out?' Somehow I just knew this wasn't over.

'You two are serving two more days in level 2, remember?' The GM sniggered. 'They always forget about the next part. I love seeing the look on their faces when they just know it's not over.'

I looked at Rex in frustration. He shrugged. We both knew we couldn't do anything about it. So he'd have to go through whatever the hell they had next for us.

They led us down to the elevator and we descended down to level 2.

It was very much like the previous one, but instead of different cells this was one big one. They went up to the control panel and pressed a button. Two benches slid out from the wall. I noted the ominous metal cuffs also pop up.

'You two. Lie flat on them and put your limbs in position. Now!'

We did as we were told. It's not like we could have done anything about it anyway. I went over to the left one and lay on my back, placing my legs and arms in the positions they told me too. The GM pressed another button on the control panel and I felt the straps lock around my wrists and ankles and waist. I felt a biting sensation to my neck and for a moment I thought my throat was being slit. Instead it was a cuff that locked around my neck. It was stupid, it in comparison it was a relief.

I didn't even try to escape from the restraints. To start with, even if I could I'd just get killed for trying to escape. And secondly I'd been in this position enough times to know that escape from these were literally impossible. I just lay back.

The benches were then reversed back into the wall. There was a little bit of room here but not much. I couldn't have been able to raise my head, but at least I could see Rex.

We didn't say anything for a while. Then Rex started talking.

'Do you really think that all is all they're doing?'

'What do you mean?' I asked.

'I mean in DreadZone. I don't believe that all go to all this trouble just so we can tear each other apart. I betta they're up to something.'

'That wouldn't surprise me,' I muttered, shifting my frame to make lying on the bench slightly less uncomfortable. 'The thing is I have no clue, and I'm not in a rush to find out.'

'Why not?'

'Why do you think? The rules are so strict here, and you know it. They just need an excuse to catch us doing something we shouldn't, and our lives are over. That's it. Done.'

Rex lay back down and started at the ceiling. He was completely still and deathly silent. For once he was being serious. 'I think they're over anyway.'


End file.
